First step in a long road: Driveway permit approved in Lee for veterans shelter project

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Click image to enlarge

John Huff/Staff photographer
Lee property owner Peter McDonald begins to clear a 11-acre parcel of land on Stepping Stones Road for construction of the first of 11 cabins for homeless veterans.

LEE — Work began on the future site of housing for homeless veterans on Stepping Stones Road where Foster's found property owner Peter MacDonald working Tuesday, along with volunteers eager to help those in need who have served in uniform.

“It's been slow getting started, but we've started,” MacDonald said.

On Nov. 30, a driveway permit was issued by the town to MacDonald, an official sign things are under way.

A veteran himself, MacDonald said creating a space where returning veterans can find a roof over their heads and a place to call home has always been his dream.

“This property is going to be dedicated to veterans coming back from combat,” he said.

The 11-acre spread of land reaches to the border of Wheelwright Pond where 572 feet abut the water. MacDonald and his wife, he said, have spent a majority of their life savings on the project where he envisions 11 cabins, a chapel and walking trails to eventually take over the landscape. The couple purchased the land last August.

To start, a single 24-foot by 24-foot cabin will be constructed where there will be two 10- by 24-foot rooms making up the basement and upstairs. The one-bedroom unit will be offered to a veteran attending school and for which MacDonald will contribute $500 toward utilities.

The project requires approval for a septic system being put in place before MacDonald can go before the Planning Board with his project. He said the septic system is one of the requirements that's held up progress on the project as it was his intent to install composting toilets for each of the cabins.

Once he's built one cabin with the required septic system, he said he'll continue with construction of the other 10 cabins on the property with composting toilets instead.

MacDonald has gained some extra hands to work on the project from resident Ricky Stevens, who was also out working on the property clearing the site on Tuesday.

“He's not doing it for me, he's doing it for the veterans,” MacDonald, who is welcoming any additional support or donations from the community, said.

“The more help I can get, the better,” he said.

MacDonald said he expects the first cabin, once started, to be constructed fairly quickly. He said the foundation will be in place in April 2013 and he anticipates the first veteran to move in a couple months later in June.

Though he suffers from various health issues as a result of his own time in combat, including PTSD and its effects, MacDonald, who was seen with a chain saw in hand on Tuesday, said he couldn't let someone else help him out so much without contributing to the work himself.

“I've volunteered all my life since I came back from the Vietnam conflict,” he said, adding that he tries to do something everyday to help someone else.

Though his health issues limit some of what he can do, he said that for this project, as with any struggle, pain is with it.

“I didn't come back from the conflict to sit around, take pills and do nothing,” he said. “If I'm going to die, I'm going to die doing something.”

Click image to enlarge

John Huff/Staff photographer
Lee property owner Peter McDonald begins to clear a 11-acre parcel of land on Stepping Stones Road for construction of the first of 11 cabins for homeless veterans.